A New Zoo Opens!

Ask students to cut three large squares from different colored construction paper using Crayola Scissors. Set one sheet aside. Divide the other 2 sheets into three rows of three equal squares by folding paper into three equal sections horizontally and vertically. Open sheets to reveal fold lines.

Use Crayola Scissors to cut 2 squares of oaktag the same size as one of the squares on the folded paper. In the center of one square draw a simple outline of a zoo animal. In the center of the other draw the outline of a plant or leaf from the animal's natural environment.

The tip of the scissors can be used to poke a hole in the middle of each drawing. From the inside, cut out both shapes. Discard the inside piece. The outline (or negative shape) is the stencil.

After covering the work area with recycled newspaper, ask students to choose two colors of Crayola Washable Paint. Roll each color out, with a foam roller, on a recycled foam produce tray.

To start a checkerboard design, place one stencil in the corner square of one of the creased pages of construction paper. Roll the paint evenly over the stencil opening with the foam roller. Repeat, using the same stencil and paint color, on the other three corners and in the center of the page. Set aside stencil, paint, and paper.

Now work with the second stencil, paint color, and unfolded paper grid. Use stencil to make four more print on the corner square only. Set aside to dry.

Use Crayola Erasable Colored Pencils or a computer to write a report on the zoo animal and its environment. Use special language to make it sound as though the animals is being introduced at the new zoo!

When the paint is dry, cut out the four printed pieces from the second stencil set. Use Crayola School Glue to secure them in the spaces left in the first stencil page, which is the cover. Place the cover on top, then the program, and finally the third square sheet of construction paper. Glue or staple the pieces together to make a complete program.

Have students investigate the career of a zoo curator, what life at a zoo is like, and/or the future of zoos. Classroom resources could include: What happens at a Zoo? By Amy Hutchings & Lisa M. Guidone; Wild Things: Untold Tales from the First Century of the Saint Louis Zoo by Patricia Corrigan; Animals Always: 100 Years at the Saint Louis Zoo by Mary Delach Leonard; Life at the Zoo: Behind the Scenes with the Animal Doctors by Phillip T. Robinson; The Rhino with Glue-On Shoes: And Other Surprising True Stories of Zoo Vets and their Patients edited by Lucy H. Spelman and Ted Y. Mashima.

OPENER: How exciting! You have been appointed as the curator for a new zoo in your town! One of your jobs is to bring new and exciting animals for people to see and learn about.